Process for casting hollow balls.



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s ranura GILBERT R. KITTLE, OF COLUMBUS, OHIU, ASSJGNOR T0 THE JEFFREY MANUFAC- TURING COMPANY, 0F COLUMBUS, OHXO, A CORPORATON 0F (Il-HM).

'PROCESS FOR CASTNG HOLLOW' BALLS.

Specification of Letters Eatent.

Patented Nou. 20E, lllll't.

Application filed August 17, 1915. Serial No. 45,937.

To all whom 15' may concern:

Be it known that l, GILBERT R. KITTLE, a citizen of the United, States, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Processes for Casting Hollow Balls, of Which the following is a specilication, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to a method for casting hollow metal halls. The object is to provide a series of steps which will result in a hall that will have a perfectly smooth exterior spherical surface and have its metal tree from the internal strains that result in the cooling ot a solid casting., and will have all parts ot the surface rigidly held in place.

Figure l shows more or less conventionally a mold having the exterior and the interior parts in position lor the iorming of the main part of the hall;

liig. Q, shows the castingY after it has been formed; f

lifig. 3 illustrates it after the core parts have been cleaned out; y

Fig. Ll shows one method for closing the aperture or apertures lett hy the core supports;

lli 5 shows the resulting plug or closure;

Fig. 6 shows a modification of what is illustrated in Fig. l; and

Fig. 7 illustrates the article resulting from the procedure shown in Fig. tl.

As many ot the initial steps are similar to ythose followed in ordinary foundry prectice, it is not. necessary to here describe them in detail. Sullice to say that l torni a mold with a spherical cavity, and, in conjunction with this, use a halted spherical core which is carried hy a core extension or support Whichrests in a core print in the sand. lf the hall is to he large and heavy, l' provide tivo diame'trically opposite supports or extensions which rest in suitahle prints. Each core support or extension has, at its inner end. next to the spherical core, an inwardly narrowing conical part, and irnmediately outside of this a radial enlargement, preferably ot the shape of a flattened sphere9 and, outside olf this, a cylindrical part. The inner tapering part of the en tension is olf less diameter than the outer cylindrical part, and the intermediate part is Wider than hoth ol there.

The core and its supporting extension are suitably positioned in the mold, in the usual manner, and then the molten metal tor the ball is poured in in any `well known Way.

Fig'. l conventionally ilus-trates the parts prior to the pouring of the metal.

After the casting has cooled. the inold opened, and the hall removed, the latter and its core are shown in Fig. 2. Then the core sand is removed oy any suitable tools and is completely cleaned out by rumbling;n in a rattler, or similar mechanism. the cleaned ball being shown in Fig.

At this time the hall has the outer surfacel, which is completely spherical, except at the outer end of the aperture or apertures 2. The aperture 2 is ol the shape above set lforth when describing the core extension which produces it. 'That is to say, it has an inner conical part 3, an outer cylindrical part 1.-, and an intermediate widened part rl`he interior of the hall oclug hollow `(the chamber being shown at (i), the thickness the metal is reduced so that at any section through the center it is annular in shape err tending from the inner surface at i to the outer surface at l.,

lu cooling this metal contracts uniformly, the absence of metal at the center permitting the formation of a homogeneous tentuie at all places between the tufo surfaces l and l'. I

The aperture "2 is partly tilled hy a retractory plug 8 and partly hy a metal plug` 9. The refractory plug is. here, a conical core Whichis lirst pressed tightly into the conical part ot the aperture near the inner surtace this :forming a cavity with closed bottoni and sides. Thehall is then turned to have this aperture positioned vertically and open upward. Then molten metal.y similar to that used in forming the hall itself, poured into the cavity outside of the refractory plug 8, as shown in Fig. Ll. After the metal has cooled and loecomD hard the part outside ot the surface of the sphere is removed. T his plug has the outer narrower part l0 and the inner verquxndeol part ll corresponding to the. shove snecitied sections ott the aperture.

The plugr 8 prevents any molten metal from entering the interior chamber 6, and the laterally widened part ll oit the metal plug prevents the escape outward ol? the metal part 9, and also locks in place the refractory part.

l desire to secure, however., a closer tit and a firmer union of the plug metal with the metal of the wall of the balh and also to have the two masses of metal distributed as homogeneously as possible. l join the contacting surfaces by effecting a union of the nature of a welding. To do this l pour the metal ina different way from that above described and illustrated in Fig. Ll.

InFig. 6 I have shown the devices for this modified way of forming the plug. l2 indicates a pouring gate, the bottom ol which is concave and fits the surface of the ball. 11i indicates a mass of sand which is arranged to form a dam above and around the gate and around the throat 13. On one side there is a spillway 15 to permit the flowing off of surplus metal. At 16 there is a Weight to hold the gate and sand lirmly in position. Molten meta-l is then poured into the cavity, as from ladle 17. The pouring is not stopped as soon as a sufficient quantity of metal has entered the cavity to' fill it. The lflowing of the metal is allowed to continuefor a period of time, and that which rises and overflows escapes by the spillway 15. This continued flowing of the metal soon heats highly the adjacent walls of the ball. And the heating is enhanced by the shape of the walls of the aperture, particularly ofthe spherical or widened part at 5, as there is caused a whirling or vortex action of the hot fluid, so that it sweeps the walls of the passage and operates to rapidly raise the heat.

The flow of the metal continues and the heating is kept up until all the metal adjacent to the aperture has become so hot as to insure a welding or intimate union of the two bodies. When the plug or apertureclosing part has become cold it has not shrunk away from the metal of the ball, for that metal has also been highly heated, and follows the plug metal in cooling.- And the tightening is further insured by having the mass of metal in the gateway at 13 sumcently deep to supply enough metal and heat to Aprevent undue contraction.

fter'the plug or closure hasbeen cooled the metal projecting beyond the outer surface is cut od' and smoothed to spherical shape by emery grinding or otherwise.

lf two or more apertures are formed by the core supports they are each filled and sealed in the way above described.

l am aware that it has been proposed 'to electrically weld plugs in the apertures of hollow balls. But lthe purpose of the present method is to insure a perfect locking oi the plug against being broken or rattled loose. ln case the heated surfaces ot the ball and plug should be impertectly joined by the welding, the plug is still mechanically and positively locked against displacement. The heating which l attain at the time the metal is poured in the apar-tune is not only ternally sphere-shaped with an aperture through the casting, the wall of which aperture is constituted of a continuously integral mass of the metal.Il pouring 'molten metal into the said aperture until thesolid metal ofsaid wall is heated high enough to weld the molten material, preventing the escape of molten metal through the inner end of the aperture, and causing a part thereof to dow radially upward and escape from said aperture during the act of pouring.

2. 'lhe herein-described process for making and closing a hollow cast metal ball which is empty after being closed, it consisting in `first 'forming a hollow sphereshaped casting with an aperture extending from the interior chamber to the outer surface and having a wall entirely surrounding it which is an integral part of the casting, and then introducing into the aperture molten metal and forming therewith a closure which as an entirety is positively loclred in the aperture and the surface portions of which are joined by weldineA them to the metal of the said inte .al wah.

3. The herein-described method for making and closing a hollow cast metal ball which is empty after being closed, it consisting in first forming a hollow casting externally sphere shaped with an aperture through the casting, the wall. oi which aperture 1s a mass of metal continuously integral` with the said casting, pouring molten metal into the .said aperture, preventing the escape thereof through the inner end of the aperture, continuing to pour molten metal into the upper part olf the aperture after it has been lled, allowing the surplus metal to V How away trom the upper end oi the aperture until the metal et said wall around the aperture is heated high enough to weld with the molten metal, then stopping the pouring of metal and causing the charge thereof remaining-in the aperture to cool with its peripheral parts welded in all directions radial to the axis of the aperture with the metal of the said surrounding wall.

4. The herein described process for the manufacture of a hollow cast metal ball, it

consisting in first forming a hollow cast:

ing externally sphere-shaped with an aperture through' the casting having a narrow outer part, a narrow inner part, and an intermediate wider part, pouring molten metal into the wider part and lto the outer narlos gemene row` part, preventing said metal from passing through the inner narrov. part, cooling and hardening such molten metalwhile in the aperture, and forming a plu or closure having a wider inner' part whic is locked against displacement either outward or inward.

5. The herein described process or the manufacture of a hollow cast ball, it consisting in first forming a hollow casting which is externally sphere-shaped with an aperture through the metal having a narrower part near the external surface and an inner wider part, pouring molten metal into thev said aperture, preventin the said meta-l from flowing into the cham r in the casting, allowing the molten metal to cool and harden in the outer i'i'arrower and in the inner Wider sections of the aperture to form a positivel locked plug or closure at the surface of t e ball. p

6. The herein described process for the manufacture of a hollow cast metal hall, it

conslslting in first forming a hollow castlng 25 externally sphere-shaped with an aperture having an inner tapered section, an intermediate wider section, and an outer section narrower than the intermediate section, insertin a plug or stopper in the inner section, ling the intermediate and outer sections with molten metal, and hardening said metal to form a positively locked plug or closure. 4

7. The herein described process for the manufacture of a'hollow cast metal ball, it

consisting in first forming a hollow casting externally sphere-shaped with an aperture through the casting, theny inserting a *plug or stopper in the inner part of saidY aperture, then filling the outer part of said aperture with molten metal and forming a cast plu with its `outer end shaped to conform to t e outer external surface of Athe hall.

In testimony whereof, l ax my signature, in presence of two Witnesses.

H. L. Rensen, DUDLnr T. Flam. 

